It all adds up, even at 200 per head (good luck finding that) he will most likely need valves and springs so he is still pushing $800 in the heads.

Finding low miles LT1’s is not hard. Car-parts.com has a nationwide search engine and you can search by distance. There are 3 LT1s less than 20 miles from me with less than 60K on them. Ebay seller Fbody (out of philly) almost always have a ebay auction for LT1 under 100K. Craigs list will get you better deals but you have to have timing and be able to react quicly to someone dumping stuff.

Just so I am not misunderstood, I am not saying slap a used motor in there. That is risky unless you know and trust the guy you are getting the motor from and if it was in a wreck there could be damage he does not know about. What you are buying is a motor that does not need bored and a set of head that will not need new guides. Check the bearing and the rings replace as needed. Install a good oil pump and of course all new gaskets. I tore my 3800 and I saw no metal not a hint of sludge and no sign the motor ever got hot. At that point I decided to install it as it but I would never do that without pulling the pan and intake. I would also not take that risk with a customers car.

well i am getting a parts car today if all goes well. its a black 93 with 150k on it. it has no rear end but the body is ok and the interior is really nice. i am paying 400 for it. i think thats fair because i will have alot of spare parts i might need down the road.

as far as my motor goes i had my wives cousin (who i found out works as a engine tek) come by and use all her fancy tools on it and she said it was all round and with in spec. she was kinda shocked. it was kinda cool to watch her do all of it too. she grabbed my hanes manual and put all the specs, limits, measurements and jazz into her laptop and it would tell her to plug in a tool and measure here and here....... and in the end the computer configured everything and it was all green. but at any rate i am going to try to get the motor i am picking up to last me until i can rebuild this one the right way. now that i will have time i am thinking of going with a mild 383. pushing somewhere around 500hp

So you tore the engine down for no reason? There is no way a rock could have any effect on how an engine runs or cranks and not damage anything. I have seen a single brass carburetor jet make an engine almost not salvageable. Rocks would be 100 times harder then brass.

hahaha, you may wana look into your ac compressor or something belt drivin it your motor isnt cranking over at all. on my mazdaspeed 6 i thought it was the starter until my fiance told me my ac wasnt spinning. seized clutch.. anyway, try cranking the engine via the main crank bolt, you should be able to rotate the engine with that to find out if you seized the engine or just something minor.. im hoping its minor when you get the head off. and you may as well hone/bore the block a bit, either go +20 over pistons or just smooth out the cylinder walls and go stock bore and compression.

i would not say for nothing gorn. i plan to rebuild it still. but taking your advice and doing it right will turn out better in the end. i see now it will not be cheap but i love my car and it will be well worth it. and my wife just got a new job so money wont be so hard to come by. Intel (computers) pays pretty damn well so... i just got to do a little at a time but now it can be more than just think full wishing to afford it. so it would be taken apart soon enough anyways.
i thought i had posted before that when i got it apart only 1 or 2 cylinders had any dirt in them and it was just dust. i may have forgot to mention that before sorry. but i have been looking as i clean up everything for why the motor just locked up. i am thinking.... i have no clue as of yet. lol

New to the forum..... Doing my first "project" see how i like motor work type situation. I have a 1993 Z28 5.7 stock.... 165k.. I want to pull the motor and do a mild build. I have experiance with the older 350's... So i know basics... MY question is, it's my understanding that with this body style the motor MUST be removed from the bottom.... Is this true or can I pull top-side?

need to start you own thread. you can pull from the top but its much easier to do from the bottom.
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Jezz Craby you think you got the body high enough?

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lol, like that,,, heres some more
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Gorn, craby lives in "Tokeland". They do everything high there! ;)